Relationships | Psychology Today

There are many kinds of love, but many people seek its expression in a romantic relationship with a compatible partner (or partners). Skiptomaincontent WhyRelationshipsMatter ReviewedbyPsychologyTodayStaff Loveisoneofthemostprofoundemotionsknowntohumanbeings.Therearemanykindsoflove,butmanypeopleseekitsexpressioninaromanticrelationshipwithacompatiblepartner(orpartners).Fortheseindividuals,romanticrelationshipscompriseoneofthemostmeaningfulaspectsoflife,andareasourceofdeepfulfillment. Whileneedforhumanconnectionappearstobeinnate,theabilitytoformhealthy,lovingrelationshipsislearned.Someevidencesuggeststhattheabilitytoformastablerelationshipstartstoformininfancy,inachild'searliestexperienceswithacaregiverwhoreliablymeetstheinfant'sneedsforfood,care,warmth,protection,stimulation,andsocialcontact.Suchrelationshipsarenotdestiny,buttheyaretheorizedtoestablishdeeplyingrainedpatternsofrelatingtoothers.Theendofarelationship,however,isoftenasourceofgreatpsychologicalanguish. Tolearnmore,seePersonalityandRelationships. HowtoBuildaHealthyRelationship Maintainingastrongrelationshiprequiresconstantcareandcommunication,andcertaintraitshavebeenshowntobeespeciallyimportantforfosteringhealthyrelationships.Eachindividualshould,forstarters,feelconfidentthattheirpartneriswillingtodevotetimeandattentiontotheother.Theymustbothalsobecommittedtoaccommodatingtheirdifferences,evenasthosechangeovertime. Inthe21stcentury,goodrelationshipsaregenerallymarkedbyemotionalandphysicalfairness,particularlyinthedistributionofchoresnecessarytomaintainahousehold.Partnersinstrongrelationshipsalsofeelgratefulforoneanother,openlyprovideandreceiveaffection,andengageinhonestdiscussionsaboutsex. Ingoodrelationships,partnerstrytoaffordtheirpartnerthebenefitofthedoubt,whichcreatesasenseofbeingonthesameteam.Thisfeeling,maintainedoverthelongterm,canhelpcouplesovercomethechallengestheywillinevitablyfacetogether. Tolearnmore,seeMaintainingaRelationshipandLoveandSex. articlecontinuesafteradvertisement HowtoFindLove Findingapartnerwithwhomtosharealifeisawonderfulbutfrequentlydifficultprocess.Whetherit'sconductedonlineorin-person,thesearchwilllikelypushanindividualintounfamiliarsettingstoencounterpotentialpartners.Tobesuccessful,itisoftennecessarytogooutsideofone'scomfortzone. Determiningwhetheraparticularpersonissuitableasapotentialmate,andwhetheraconnectionreflectstemporaryinfatuationortruelove,canchallenging,butresearchsuggeststhattherearerevealingcluesinbehavior. Onepossiblycounterintuitiveindicatorofapotentialmatchisone'ssenseofself.Someonewhowouldmakeagoodpartnermaypushanindividualtodiscovernewactivitiesorbeliefsthatexpandtheirownself-concept.Anotherearlysignifiermaybestress:Repeatedlyinteractingwithsomeonewhoseimpressionmattersdeeplytouscanfuelanxiety.Otherpositiveindicatorsincludebeinghighlymotivatedtoseethepersonandinvestingasignificantamountoftime,emotion,andenergyintothebuddingrelationship. Tolearnmore,seeHowPeopleFindLove. HowRelationshipsFail Everyrelationshiprepresentsaleapoffaithforatleastonepartner,andeveninthehappiestcouples,theverytraitsthatonceattractedthemtoeachothercaneventuallybecomeannoyancesthatdrivethemapart.Acquiringtheskillstomakeaconnectionlastishardwork,andthreatsmayspringupwithoutnotice.Inshort-term,casualrelationships,neitherpartnermayseeatrulyviablelong-termfuturetogether,butoftenonlyonetakesaction,insomecasesghostingtheother,walkingoutoftheirliveswithnocommunication,notevenatext. Forsomecouples,infidelityisboththefirstandlaststraw,butasurprisingnumberofrelationshipssurvivebetrayal,someonlytohavetheirconnectionupendedbyeverydaythreatssuchasalossofinterestinphysicalintimacy,orawaningofpositivefeelinginthewakeofconstantcriticism,contempt,ordefensiveness.Evenstayingtogetherfordecadesisnoguaranteethatacouplewillremainconnected:Thedivorcerateforcouplesover50hasdoubledsince1990. Somepeoplecanwalkawayfromyearsofmarriageandinstantlyfeelunburdened.Forothers,theendofarelationshipthatlastedjustafewdatescantriggeremotionaltraumathatlingersforyears.Howeverabreakupplaysout,itcanbeamajorstressorwithaneffectonegoandself-esteemthatcannotbeignored. Tolearnmore,seeRelationshipChallengesandTheEndofRelationships. Next:HowPeopleFindLove EssentialReads DecodingtheConfusingFeelingsofLove Whatdoesthefeelingofbeinginlovemean?Andwhatdoesitmeanwhenthefeelinggoesaway? AnUnromanticbutCompellingTheoryAboutSexualMotivations Someyearsago,wepublishedatheorythatpeopledon’tlike.Usingeconomicstheorytoanalyzethesexualmarketplaceisunromantic.Butitsurefits. AreYouorYourPartnerStrugglingWithaMoodDisorder? These3practicesmighthelp. YouDeserveanAbuse-FreeLife Abuse,atanylevel,destroysacouple'sabilitytoengageinsuccessfulandproductiveproblem-solving. RecentPosts DangerousIntimacy:WhenSexualBehaviorCanBeDeadly WendyL.Patrick,J.D.,Ph.D.onJune23,2022inWhyBadLooksGood Howexpressionsofintimacythatbeginwithconsentcandevolveintodangerousdeviance. Howexpressionsofintimacythatbeginwithconsentcandevolveintodangerousdeviance. UnderstandingWorkhorsesandSlackers ShawnM.BurnPh.D.onJune23,2022inPresenceofMind Whengroupshavejobstodo,somemembersmaynotdotheirfairshare.Whydosomepeopleslackwhenothersdon’t?Whatcanwedowhenwe’redonecompensatingforslackers? Whengroupshavejobstodo,somemembersmaynotdotheirfairshare.Whydosomepeopleslackwhenothersdon’t?Whatcanwedowhenwe’redonecompensatingforslackers? WhattoExpectAfterYou’veCheated RobertWeissPh.D.,MSWonJune23,2022inLoveandSexintheDigitalAge Cheaterscanreacttotheirpartner’semotions,becomingdefensiveandmakingthingsworse,ortheycanacceptthattheyarethecauseoftheirpartner'spain. Cheaterscanreacttotheirpartner’semotions,becomingdefensiveandmakingthingsworse,ortheycanacceptthattheyarethecauseoftheirpartner'spain. 4ReasonstoSeparate RobertTaibbiL.C.S.W.onJune23,2022inFixingFamilies Separationdoesn'talwaysendindivorce.Herearefourwaystouseseparationsandguidelinesformovingforward. Separationdoesn'talwaysendindivorce.Herearefourwaystouseseparationsandguidelinesformovingforward. IsAngerAffectingYourMarriage? AprilEldemireLMFTonJune22,2022inCouplesThrive Angeronitsownisn'tnecessarilyaproblem.Theproblemiswhentheemotionassumesfullcontroloveryourbehaviorsandactions. Angeronitsownisn'tnecessarilyaproblem.Theproblemiswhentheemotionassumesfullcontroloveryourbehaviorsandactions. Peace,LoveandHappiness:AnIntroductiontoMyBlog AaronAhuviaPh.D.onJune22,2022inPeace,LoveandHappiness Whyisamarketingprofessorwritingaboutpeace,loveandhappiness? Whyisamarketingprofessorwritingaboutpeace,loveandhappiness? HowManipulativeLoversExploitDatingandSex BrianCollissonPh.D.onJune22,2022inDatingToxicorTender PeoplewithMachiavellianpersonalitiescanbecunningmanipulatorswhoexploitothersbylyingabouttheirdatingandsexualmotives. PeoplewithMachiavellianpersonalitiescanbecunningmanipulatorswhoexploitothersbylyingabouttheirdatingandsexualmotives. TheBenefitsofaHealthy,Long-TermRomanticTie TemmaEhrenfeldonJune22,2022inOpenGently Aromanticrelationshipdeliverssomemajorbenefits,butonlyifit'sagoodone. Aromanticrelationshipdeliverssomemajorbenefits,butonlyifit'sagoodone. 5ActionstoOptimizeYourMentalWellness TonyDaloisioPh.D.onJune22,2022inTheJourneyofYourLife Findingitoverwhelmingtotackleself-reflection?Usingthesefivestoriescanmakeiteasytoexploreyourmentalwellness. Findingitoverwhelmingtotackleself-reflection?Usingthesefivestoriescanmakeiteasytoexploreyourmentalwellness. HowtoDealWithaNarcissist’sSenseofEntitlement LeonF.SeltzerPh.D.onJune22,2022inEvolutionoftheSelf Herearethemosteffectivewaysofconvincinganarcissisttoeitherameliorateorabandonthispotentbutperniciousdefensemechanism. Herearethemosteffectivewaysofconvincinganarcissisttoeitherameliorateorabandonthispotentbutperniciousdefensemechanism. Pagination 1 2 Next RelationshipsCenter WhyRelationshipsMatter HowPeopleFindLove MaintainingaRelationship LoveandSex RelationshipChallenges PersonalityandRelationships TheEndofRelationships advertisement RelationshipsResources GetHelp Findatherapisttostrengthenrelationships CityorZip ConnectedTopics SexualOrientation Flirting Mating Marriage Infidelity Polyamory Shyness Sex Jealousy Diagnosis Hypersexuality(SexAddiction) SexualDesireDisorder TestYourself CommitmentReadiness LoveDiagnostics RomanticPersonality RomanticSpace advertisement FindaRelationshipIssuesTherapist Getthehelpyouneedfromatherapistnearyou–aFREEservicefromPsychologyToday. 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